Thirty minutes is about all the time I have this morning to gather my White House murder story facts together.  Obviously I will need more time.

So far:

1. Elisha Hunt Allen serves as minister from the Kingdom of Hawaii to the United States from 1869 until January 1, 1883, when while attending a diplomatic reception given by President Chester A. Arthur in the White House at Washington, D.C., he suddenly dies.

2. John L. Stevens, devout imperialist and minister from the Kingdom of Hawaii, conspires with non-native Hawaiians to overthrow the Hawaiian monarchy, led by Queen Lili’uokalani, in favor of American annexation.

3. Stevens works in association with the Committee of Safety, led by Lorrin A. Thurston and Sanford B. Dole, both white non-natives and children of Christian missionaries to the islands.  Both played vital roles in the implementation of the Bayonet Constitution of 1887.  Forced at gunpoint, the Constitution was signed by King David Kalakaua.  The Bayonet Constitution effectively stripped the existing monarchy of all executive powers, stripped the majority of native Hawaiians of their right to vote, yet gave white American and European immigrants the right to vote.

4. Government turns to the Privy Council, a royal cabinet made up largely of American businessmen.

5. A plot to forcibly remove Queen Lili’uokalani from power was begun in late 1892 and executed in January of 1893 with the help of the United States Marine Corp, who stormed ‘Iolani Palace while across the street at Ali’lolani Hale, the Committee of Safety proclaimed the Provisional Government of Hawai’i.

The White House murder-mystery all seems to be a precursor for all that would come later.

“The Hawaiian pear is now fully ripe and this is the golden hour for the United States to pluck it.”

-- John L. Stevens, from a letter penned to the State Department, February 1, 1893